Chaos as 250,000 swamp Fatboy Slim beach party

By Suzanna Chambers

12:01AM BST 15 Jul 2002

One man died and dozens of people were injured after up to 250,000 clubbers descended on Brighton for Europe's biggest beach party.

More than four times the expected number of party-goers went to the free event staged by the DJ Norman Cook - Fatboy Slim - on Saturday night, bringing chaos to the resort. A man in his 40s died of a heart attack at the concert and a 26-year-old woman was critically injured after the event as thousands of people, left stranded by inadequate transport services, continued to party.

The woman fell 30ft from the city's Upper Esplanade. She suffered severe head and spine injuries. A second woman was taken to hospital with a broken back while two more party-goers were treated for broken hips. A spokesman for the Royal Sussex County Hospital said: "I have never seen anything quite like it. The last time we had a major incident in the city was the Brighton bomb."

Organisers of the dance party, which last year attracted 35,000 clubbers, had estimated that around 60,000 would turn up this time. The sheer volume of people meant that ambulances could not get through the streets to the scores of casualties. Instead, people were ferried by lifeboats to Brighton Marina where ambulances were waiting.

Emily Hobbs, 31, from Croydon, south London, said: "It was utter lunacy. We could not get close enough to hear let alone see anything. People were hanging out of buildings and standing on top of cars just to try to get a look."

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Stephen Vaughan, 23, also from south London, said: "We were quite near the front and from a very early stage it was absolutely crammed. It could have been another Hillsborough."

As the crowds on the seafront grew some people were forced into the water to avoid being crushed. At least six people had to be rescued by coastguards. One man who jumped off the pier was plucked to safety.

The Big Beach Boutique event, supported by Brighton city council, officially finished at 11pm but there was not enough transport to get everyone home and thousands were forced to spend the night on the beach or in parks. Four extra trains were laid on and a fleet of buses was brought in during the early hours of the morning but people were still waiting to leave Brighton as late as 3pm yesterday.

The size of the crowd was thought to be due to a combination of the warm weather and the popularity of Fatboy Slim, who is married to Zoe Ball, the television presenter. The couple, who have a son, live in Brighton.

Steve Tiller, of Sussex ambulance service, said: "I think we now need to approach this event on the side of caution and look at ways of limiting numbers."

The organisers, Southern Fried Records, said: "Although the numbers were huge, Big Beach Boutique was a party that took place in very good spirits with no more arrests than any other Saturday night."

Cook said: "This was without doubt the biggest gig of my career. I would like to thank the emergency services and everyone involved in the clean-up operation. We now have to return the city I love to how it should be seen."